With The Best FIFA Football Awards 2017 coming up fast and the 55 nominees for the FIFA FIFPRO World11 already known, try your hand at predicting the final line-up and you could win some impressive pr...

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Positive reactions at halfway stage

On Monday 24 June, following the conclusion of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 group phase, FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, Local Organising Committee (LOC) Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Trade, Brazil’s Minister of Sports Aldo Rebelo and his deputy Luis Fernandes held a press conference in Rio de Janeiro to reflect on the competition so far.

Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary GeneralOn the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 group stageSo far it’s been a fantastic tournament. My thanks go to the LOC, the government, the host venues and the wonderful fans. To date we’ve had 574,180 spectators in the stadiums, which averages out at 47,848 fans per game. That’s the second-highest attendance since the FIFA Confederations Cup 1999 in Mexico. On top of that we’ve witnessed the highest average number of goals per game in the tournament’s history. Four of the participating teams have been world champions at some point and between them they’ve won 12 of the 19 FIFA World Cups so far. The match between Brazil and Mexico was watched by more than 40 million people in ten key markets. All of those factors underline the quality of the FIFA Confederations Cup.

On the economic effects of the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013The tournament has created more than 6,000 jobs in the area of gastronomy alone. On top of that come numerous other jobs that have been generated in other sectors, such as hospitality. All of the investments benefit the Brazilian economy. A good example of that is in merchandising: the best-selling fan article is the Fuleco cap, which was designed and produced by a company based in Parana. Both FIFA and Brazil are organising the tournament here.

On preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™We’re paying close attention to the diverse operational procedures at the Confederations Cup in order to determine where there are still glitches. Our experiences here help us to make improvements ahead of Brazil 2014. That said, we haven’t had any incidents worth mentioning so far, only a few minor issues. Certain areas such as infrastructure and stadiums were a challenge, but they were successfully overcome.

Aldo Rebelo, Minister of Sports On the first half of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013We’ve overcome challenges in many different areas and can be confident that next year we’ll be ready to host a wonderful FIFA World Cup, just as we did in 1950. The cooperation between the LOC, the Brazilian Football Association and the government has been trouble free. The improvements in infrastructure will benefit the whole Brazilian population and will create a sustainable legacy. We want to organise a football fest that will live up to the world’s expectations and will show us as a modern and open nation.

Luis Fernandes, Deputy Minister of SportsOn the government’s investmentsHosting the FIFA Confederations Cup and the FIFA World Cup has enabled us to invest in infrastructure and development. We drew up a comprehensive and transparent investment plan in order to foster sustainable projects and that strategy was supported by federal and state governments. Three quarters of all investment has been spent on public transport or the modernisation of our airports.

On the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013The FIFA Confederations Cup is a superb sporting event which has shown that Brazil is ready to host the FIFA World Cup. Prior to the start of the tournament there were widespread doubts as to whether the stadiums would be finished in time, but all six venues were ready on schedule. The learning curve was huge and that will greatly help all 12 World Cup host cities in their preparations for next year.

Ricardo Trade, LOC CEOOn the group stage of the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013We’re very satisfied with all 12 matches to have taken place in the six venues so far. We’re working closely with both FIFA and the government and everything is running smoothly. The atmosphere in the stadiums is simply fantastic.

On the volunteersBy the end of the tournament 5,652 volunteers will have helped out. They do a terrific job and always have a smile on their faces. We’re very proud of their commitment and enthusiasm.

On operational proceduresEverybody’s doing their utmost to offer the best service they can and so far we’ve had very positive feedback. Of course, there’s still room for improvement and we’re working on that. All the stadiums will be finished by December 2013 and the 12 host cities will be ready for the World Cup next year.